NC agency: Kings Mountain fifth best place to retire in state

Saturday

Feb 22, 2014 at 12:01 AMFeb 22, 2014 at 4:58 PM

Molly Phipps

Kings Mountain was recently chosen as the fifth best retirement community in the state by North Carolina-based real estate company Movoto. The list ranked 82 cities in the state, all of which have populations greater than 10,000.

Shelby placed 53rd on the same list, which ranked 82 cities in the state, all of which have populations greater than 10,000.

For Cleveland County’s aging population, these rankings might be significant. The county’s senior population has surged in the past decade, and the number of young adults and children has declined, according to Census numbers in 2000 and 2010.

The company used five criteria to determine the cities’ rankings. Those included: cost of living, total crime, total amenities, weather and distance from nearest international airport.

“Out of the five pieces of criteria we used to judge each place, Kings Mountain ranked well in four, with the only criterion harming the locale’s ascent up our listing being its cost of living rank,” Movoto officials said in the report. “For this criterion, Kings Mountain took the No. 76 spot, with the area’s cost of living on par with the national average.”

The aging crisis

Last June, The Star published a series of stories that highlighted the aging crisis - young people leaving the county while the older population continues to age.

In that series, Kings Mountain Mayor Rick Murphrey mentioned the city’s Patrick Senior Center, which opened in 2001 and is currently undergoing expansion to make room for a larger nutrition program, storage space, fitness facility and meeting room for seniors.

The Patrick Center serves 65 percent of Kings Mountain’s population above 55 years old, or 2,005 residents, and another 200 residents across the county.

But what do Kings Mountain and Shelby's mayors think about the rankings?

“As far as our crime rate, it has been reduced for many years,” said Murphrey. “So we have a great community and we're real proud of that distinction.”

More people of all ages are moving to Kings Mountain, Murphrey said, so not only is the city experiencing an increase in industry and businesses like new restaurants, but also in residential growth.

“I was talking to a family that is moving from Belmont to our community. They were talking about our children’s park; they were talking about the trails,” he said.

“As far as expenses and utilities, we work very hard to keep our utility rates down,” he said. “That makes it a good place as seniors retire. And a lot of them on fixed incomes, they look at quality of life, tax rate and low utility rates. And we have a very low tax rate.”

Why a lower ranking for Shelby?

Shelby ranked 53 on the same list. Shelby Mayor Stan Anthony said he was surprised with the rankings, but said Shelby has much to offer seniors.

"We have one of the best senior centers around. It's a very fine senior center. We have a lot of amenities," he said.

The Council on Aging/Neal Senior Center in Shelby hosts the annual Cleveland County Senior Games in January, holds regular dance and exercise classes, runs an emergency food pantry and holds various fundraisers throughout the year.

More than 300 people use the Neal Senior Center on a daily basis and its volunteers contribute more than 36,000 hours of service.

Anthony said all of the things retirees are looking for can be found in Shelby.

"The cost of living is low and crime is low," he said. "We're a good place to retire."

The discrepancy between Shelby and Kings Mountain, according to Movoto's list, was largely due to their different weather rankings.

With both cities just 13 miles apart, The Star contacted Movoto to find out what made the difference.

"We collect our weather information from the data base Sterling Best Places. Since we are looking at only one state, the weather is going to be similar between all the cities. Small differences between two cities can result in a large difference in their weather rankings. This would then account for the gap in Kings Mountain and Shelby," said Chad Stiffney, Movoto Public Relations Associate. "Other cities in the state could have similar results in the weather ranking because of their close proximities."

According to that database, Shelby and Kings Mountain have identical climate profiles, both with the same amounts of rain and snowfall per year and the same high and low average temperatures. The only difference: Shelby has four more sunny days per year than Kings Mountain.

How nearby cities ranked:

16) Belmont. Population 10,076.

Weather rank: 26

Cost of living rank: 38

Crime rank: 42

Travel rank: 38

Amenities rank: 1

Average score: 28.33

22) Lincolnton. Population 10,486.

Weather rank: 26

Cost of living rank: 19

Crime rank: 55

Travel rank: 32

Amenities rank: 27

Average score: 30.67

25) Gastonia. Population 71,741.

Weather rank: 12

Cost of living rank: 24

Crime rank: 66

Travel rank: 11

Amenities rank: 62

Average score: 31.58

30) Charlotte. Population 731,424.

Weather rank: 26

Cost of living rank: 42

Crime rank: 38

Travel rank: 2

Amenities rank: 71

Average score: 34

53) Shelby. Population 20,323.

Weather rank: 68

Cost of living rank: 15

Crime rank: 37

Travel rank: 34

Amenities rank: 63

Average score: 45.33

Top Five Cities:

1) Morrisville. Population 18,576.

Weather rank: 4

Cost of living rank: 76

Crime rank: 9

Travel rank: 1

Amenities rank: 6

Average score: 17.17

2) Mount Holly. Population 13,656.

Weather rank: 26

Cost of living rank: 29

Crime rank: 18

Travel rank: 4

Amenities rank: 4

Average score: 17.67

3) Apex. Population 37,476.

Weather rank: 4

Cost of living rank: 72

Crime rank: 5

Travel rank: 3

Amenities rank: 19

Average score: 18.33

4) Holly Springs. Population 24,661.

Weather rank: 4

Cost of living rank: 76

Crime rank: 3

Travel rank: 16

Amenities rank: 16

Average score: 20.33

5) Kings Mountain. Population 10,296.

Weather rank: 12

Cost of living rank: 12

Crime rank: 36

Travel rank: 27

Amenities rank: 31

Average score: 22.08

What was the criteria?

-Cost of living

-Total crime

-Total amenities

-Weather

-Distance from nearest international airport (travel)

Who is Movoto?

-Movoto Real Estate is a North Carolina-based firm that sells real estate in more than 30 states across America. It provides detailed housing information and access to knowledgeable local real estate agents.

-Movoto’s blog is an extension of the company’s business philosophy. It creates top 10 lists ranking cities across America.

-From the blog: "We have received coverage from all over the world for our city-ranking lists. Our thorough and well-researched methods involve using algorithms to weigh categories in ways that have never been done before."

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